Homes a peak into the past

Tuesday

Jul 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMJul 31, 2007 at 10:10 PM

Surely the popularity of open houses and home-renovation shows reflects not just America's love of real estate, but also the thrill of peeking into other people's lives, as revealed through their choices of furnishings and paint color.

Jennifer Kavanaugh

Surely the popularity of open houses and home-renovation shows reflects not just America's love of real estate, but also the thrill of peeking into other people's lives, as revealed through their choices of furnishings and paint color.

Historic houses offer the chance to examine past lives, and New England has no shortage of old homes available for the touring. Thom Roach, director of publicity and programming for Gore Place in Waltham, said the past comes alive in the sitting rooms and halls of these residences.

"This is the history of the area, in these houses," Roach said. "Rather than just read about history, you can go to the places where people made history."

MetroWesters can choose from plenty of historic properties that help tell the story of the region's - and the nation's - origins, architecture and literary achievements. Built over the span of more than two centuries, these six homes were once the addresses of famous writers, a Revolutionary War general, a visionary architect, a philanthropist and a politician.

Artemas Ward House

Shrewsbury

When history hands out accolades, it isn't especially kind to those who finish in second place. Meet Shrewsbury's Artemas Ward, who commanded the militia at the start of the Revolutionary War before becoming George Washington's number-two man in the Continental Army.

Though Ward was an accomplished man in his own right, Washington got the starring role in history books, the presidency and the dollar bill. After the war, Ward was active in local government and politics, and his resume included stints as a state representative, a U.S. congressman and a Worcester County judge.

The house on Main Street had been in the family for decades, and Ward got the house in 1765. In 1925, one of his descendants gave the Colonial house to Harvard University, with the promise that the institution would preserve the house and keep Ward's legacy alive. As a result, visitors can view centuries-old furniture, original architectural features and some of Ward's clothing, including his well-preserved felt tricorn hat. People can also learn about several generations of Ward relatives who lived in the house over the course of two centuries.

Gore Place

Waltham

One of several old estates in Waltham, Gore Place is the historic house that almost wasn't. The estate that had belonged to a Massachusetts governor in the early 1800s changed hands several times over the next century, even becoming a golf course clubhouse at one point.

By 1935, a bank was ready to tear down the house and sell off the land, until some preservationists staged a phone campaign and raised about $15,000 over a weekend to save the estate. Their efforts mean that people today still have a chance to tour the gracious 1806 brick mansion that was once home to Christopher and Rebecca Gore.

Christopher Gore became the state's first governor in 1809, and was a diplomat, a U.S. senator, and the state's first U.S. attorney, appointed by George Washington. With a guest list that once included Marquis de Lafayette, David Webster and James Monroe, the Gores' Federal mansion tells the story of the couple and of a fledgling nation.

The house's standouts include a John Singleton Copley painting of two of Gore's sisters, and some early innovations such as heated floors and indoor plumbing. People can also walk around the estate's 45 acres and spend time at the farm, which includes sheep, goats and chickens.

Gropius House

Lincoln

In 1938, the formation of the flat-roofed, boxy house with industrial windows must have come as a shock to neighbors in this bucolic area of Lincoln, but they were about to become acquainted with one of the most revolutionary figures of 20th century architecture.

Walter Gropius founded and ran the Bauhaus design school in Germany, until the Nazis took power and closed the doors of the forward-thinking school. After a stint in London, Gropius came to Massachusetts to teach at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and influence the next several generations of architects.

His house still contains Bauhaus furniture and gifts from family friends, like paintings from artist Joan Miro and the pre-Columbian figurines provided by Diego Rivera.

Unlike other historic homes, Gropius House is still new enough that the tours attract visitors who had been to the house before, as Gropius' guests.

"It's a house that bore witness to so much that was influential in modern design in this country," said David Moore, Gropius House's site manager. The design emphasizes simplicity, efficiency and open space. And while it may seem at odds with its surroundings, the house actually embraces its setting, with its clever uses of white clapboard and stone, and harmonious interaction with nature.

Old Manse

Concord

Next to Concord River and the North Bridge, the Old Manse stands at the intersection of American military and literary history. The 1770 house first belonged to the Rev. William Emerson, grandfather of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and in 1842 it got another impressive tenant in the form of Nathaniel Hawthorne. The writer and his wife, Sophia, spent the first few years of their marriage there, and the house still speaks volumes to their newlywed happiness, particularly the windowpane love notes and musings the Hawthornes etched with Sophia's diamond ring.

The grounds also include a recreation of the vegetable garden Henry David Thoreau planted for the couple as a wedding present. The house gets its name from "Mosses From an Old Manse," a collection of short stories Hawthorne wrote while living there. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote his famous "Nature" essay several years before, when he lived in the house.

Orchard House

Concord

A walk through Louisa May Alcott's home is a trip through the real-life version of "Little Women," the classic novel Alcott penned while living in the house. The story of the four young March women is based on Alcott's own experiences growing up with three sisters in the mid-19th century.

After leading a nomadic existence of sorts, the Alcotts moved into Orchard House in 1858. The house still showcases many of the same furnishings owned by the family, such as Alcott's writing desk and paintings and sketches made by her sister May (who inspired the character of Amy March).

The patriarch of the family, Bronson Alcott, who was a transcendental philosopher and educator, started the Concord School of Philosophy on the property, and people can still visit the building. He encouraged his daughters to pursue all of their intellectual and artistic interests, a fairly radical notion at the time.

Beyond "Little Women," Louisa May Alcott fit many other accomplishments into her 55-year life, including working as a nurse during the Civil War and writing dozens of novels and story collections.

Stonehurst, the Robert Treat Paine Estate

Waltham

Now owned by the city of Waltham, Stonehurst brought together two friends and giants in their respective fields: architect Henry Hobson Richardson, who designed Trinity Church in Copley Square, and Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who created Central Park in New York and Boston's Emerald Necklace.

Philanthropist Robert Treat Paine and his family had built a summer house on a Waltham hill in 1866, and in 1884 the family asked Richardson to build an addition to the home. Richardson's "addition" now dominates the residence, with its prominent stonework, dramatic arch entrance and wood-paneled great hall.

Olmsted helped give the Paines, and visitors today, the beautiful hilltop views from the house and patio. Stonehurst's landscaping and the wooded trails next to the house make people forget that they are still in urban Waltham.

If you go:

ARTEMAS WARD HOUSE: 786 Main St., Shrewsbury

Phone: 508-842-8900

Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 5 p.m.

Admission: Free

GORE PLACE: 52 Gore St., Waltham

Phone: 781-894-2798

Web site: www.goreplace.org

Hours: Tours take place at 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, year round; and Saturdays and Sundays at 12, 1, 2 and 3 p.m., from April 15 through Nov. 15.

The grounds are free and are open all day. Admission for the house: $10 for adults, $5 for children 5-12. Free for Gore Place members. There is a $1 discount for AAA, WGBH, Massachusetts Teachers Association, and AARP members.

Admission: $10, free for Lincoln residents and Historic New England members

OLD MANSE: 269 Monument St., Concord

Phone: 978-369-3909

Web site: www.thetrustees.org

Hours: Mid-April to Oct. 31, the house is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday and holidays, noon to 5 p.m. The grounds are open sunrise to sunset.

Admission: House tours are $8 for adults, $5 for children (ages 6-12) and $7 for seniors and students with valid identification. Families (two adults and up to three minor children) cost $25, and $5 for each additional child. Group tours are available by appointment ($6 per person, for a minimum of 10 people). Tours are free for trustee members. Grounds are free.

ORCHARD HOUSE: 399 Lexington Road, Concord

Phone: 978-369-4118

Web site: www.louisamayalcott.org

Hours: The house is shown by guided tour only. April 1 to Oct. 31, the house is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 1 to March 31: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 4:30 p.m.

Admission: $8 for adults; $7 for students and seniors 62 and older; $5 for children ages 6 to 17. A $20 family rate is available for two adults and up to four children.

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